I just spent half an hour (minimum) trying on multiple pairs of shoes with new pants trying to determine the best length before they go to the tailor. Break or no? Show a little ankle? Would love your thoughts!
I’ve been hemming everything with a full break lately, if the pants are fairly wide. I think it looks the most modern plus you can always shorten later if you tire of the length…
Love your "Nat" piece ! Please write about tailors,it feels like it's a vanishing trade in America!
Audio books are ALL about the reader. Years ago I got very into a guy named Simon Vance ( as a audio book reader) I would only buy books that he read. It's a real talent ( see if he's still reading!) And finally- congrats on finishing your book and giving it a title! Love it..
I absolutely love the piece on tailors - how wonderful. During the pandemic my local tailor in Seattle had to close down - she was elderly and due to the lack of business could not make the rent in this expensive city. Her daughter, however, transitioned her to a new model - the daughter will meet me in a community center where she has a separate area and takes my measurements, her mom then completes the alterations and then the grandson delivers the items to my home when the alterations are complete. Being 5’2 and curvy, tailoring is important and I am grateful for the skill they bring to this profession.
I think audiobooks are best when narrated by the author. Not always possible, I know. Will you be able to narrate Joy Ride? Please? (I look forward to it either way.)And thanks for Nat the Tailor. So New York, butter cookies and all. 💜
Disagree on the author as narrator in one case: Barbara Ehrenreich reading her "Living With a Wild God." Her voice was so harsh and raspy, I didn't even get through the introduction. Feel bad because, of course, we all age, but in this case, a different reader would have been good.
I listened and I agree. The voice lacked the natural fluctuations in pitch and tone that human voices have. When my niece wanted to annoy, she would speak this way and wouldn't stop until she felt like it, despite the family telling her to "cut it out!" She needed alteration too.
I received 2 requests in as many days last week from marketing companies asking about my support for AI in audiobook narration. I replied to both companies in no uncertain terms that all of my books have been published with traditional (now called legacy!?) publishers, and that I’m a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, the union for professional audiobook narrators and that audiobook narration is a special acting talent in itself different from screen, stage, commercial, and soap work. That AI is soulless, has no empathy or compassion or emotions because it’s a bot and only a human knows what it’s like to laugh, love, fall in love, lose a loved one, give birth, feel pain, sorrow, joy, and despair. We can convey this when we breathe life into an author’s prose (or our own, and I’ve done that, too, several times) with our voices, our emotions, and our life experiences, in our best effort to honor the author’s intentions. I hate AI voices as narrators with the heat of a thousand suns. No one wants to hear Alexa tell you a story!
This narrator must be why I can't stand Elena Ferrante! I did get through The Friend but it was hard. So sad that the wrong narrator can really ruin the experience of a book.
Re: the audiobook narrator, here's a link to other books narrated by Hilary Huber, who apparently voiced The Friend. She sounds like AI in a few other books as well. Maybe publishers are advising her to sound more like AI so in the future they can shift to mostly using AI narrators and save some $$$. https://audiobookstore.com/narrators/hillary-huber-audiobooks/
Brilliant. Back when working class people were fluent and articulate and had a wide vocabulary. Not joking! This is USA and im thinking in UK terms but similar situation. You only have to watch vintage Coronation Street from the 1960s,70s,80s to notice the difference. That's what I got from this piece. Am glad your nasty sounding wound is healing.
i don't agree, I think she sound human, even has a bit of a nasal tone. But I know we all have our preferences when it comes to narrators. I personally can't listen to anything with "mouth noises," and some narrators have them. I do hope we all resist AI as narrator, no matter what. (ps I don't like disagreeing with you, even about this! I love your work so much.)
I just spent half an hour (minimum) trying on multiple pairs of shoes with new pants trying to determine the best length before they go to the tailor. Break or no? Show a little ankle? Would love your thoughts!
I’ve been hemming everything with a full break lately, if the pants are fairly wide. I think it looks the most modern plus you can always shorten later if you tire of the length…
Love your "Nat" piece ! Please write about tailors,it feels like it's a vanishing trade in America!
Audio books are ALL about the reader. Years ago I got very into a guy named Simon Vance ( as a audio book reader) I would only buy books that he read. It's a real talent ( see if he's still reading!) And finally- congrats on finishing your book and giving it a title! Love it..
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I absolutely love the piece on tailors - how wonderful. During the pandemic my local tailor in Seattle had to close down - she was elderly and due to the lack of business could not make the rent in this expensive city. Her daughter, however, transitioned her to a new model - the daughter will meet me in a community center where she has a separate area and takes my measurements, her mom then completes the alterations and then the grandson delivers the items to my home when the alterations are complete. Being 5’2 and curvy, tailoring is important and I am grateful for the skill they bring to this profession.
Congrats on your freedom from the boot!
I think audiobooks are best when narrated by the author. Not always possible, I know. Will you be able to narrate Joy Ride? Please? (I look forward to it either way.)And thanks for Nat the Tailor. So New York, butter cookies and all. 💜
I'm sure I'll narrate the memoir--I've done all my books except for The Orchid Thief, so I'm sure I'll do this one, too.
Disagree on the author as narrator in one case: Barbara Ehrenreich reading her "Living With a Wild God." Her voice was so harsh and raspy, I didn't even get through the introduction. Feel bad because, of course, we all age, but in this case, a different reader would have been good.
I listened and I agree. The voice lacked the natural fluctuations in pitch and tone that human voices have. When my niece wanted to annoy, she would speak this way and wouldn't stop until she felt like it, despite the family telling her to "cut it out!" She needed alteration too.
I received 2 requests in as many days last week from marketing companies asking about my support for AI in audiobook narration. I replied to both companies in no uncertain terms that all of my books have been published with traditional (now called legacy!?) publishers, and that I’m a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, the union for professional audiobook narrators and that audiobook narration is a special acting talent in itself different from screen, stage, commercial, and soap work. That AI is soulless, has no empathy or compassion or emotions because it’s a bot and only a human knows what it’s like to laugh, love, fall in love, lose a loved one, give birth, feel pain, sorrow, joy, and despair. We can convey this when we breathe life into an author’s prose (or our own, and I’ve done that, too, several times) with our voices, our emotions, and our life experiences, in our best effort to honor the author’s intentions. I hate AI voices as narrators with the heat of a thousand suns. No one wants to hear Alexa tell you a story!
This narrator must be why I can't stand Elena Ferrante! I did get through The Friend but it was hard. So sad that the wrong narrator can really ruin the experience of a book.
Agree. Excruciating. (Left my own comment before seeing yours )
Thank you for re-sharing your Talk of the Town piece! I loved it and would absolutely read another story about tailors! My latest newsletter features my love for my tailor, who's been in my life for 15+ years. I'd be honored if you'd take a look! https://abbydavisson.substack.com/p/my-deliberate-closet-behind-the-scenes?r=22i17y
Re: the audiobook narrator, here's a link to other books narrated by Hilary Huber, who apparently voiced The Friend. She sounds like AI in a few other books as well. Maybe publishers are advising her to sound more like AI so in the future they can shift to mostly using AI narrators and save some $$$. https://audiobookstore.com/narrators/hillary-huber-audiobooks/
Brilliant. Back when working class people were fluent and articulate and had a wide vocabulary. Not joking! This is USA and im thinking in UK terms but similar situation. You only have to watch vintage Coronation Street from the 1960s,70s,80s to notice the difference. That's what I got from this piece. Am glad your nasty sounding wound is healing.
Two fantastic narrators: Hugh Fraser, who reads Agatha Christie's "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" and Lee Horsley, who reads "Lonesome Dove."
The terrible audiobook narrator was the reason I abandoned My Brilliant Friend.
i don't agree, I think she sound human, even has a bit of a nasal tone. But I know we all have our preferences when it comes to narrators. I personally can't listen to anything with "mouth noises," and some narrators have them. I do hope we all resist AI as narrator, no matter what. (ps I don't like disagreeing with you, even about this! I love your work so much.)